Originally Posted by IanG

In the various threads on this topic there have been some great advice and suggestions.
One thing I have never seen mentioned is the calibration of the alignment rack or balancer.
Yes when operating correctly this equipment is great but if is not calibrated, and they should be calibrated regularly, then the results reflect that.
On my previous 4Runner I had an alignment done at a specialized tire & alignment shop, when I drove out of the shop the steering wheel was off centre, brought it right back, they put it on the rack, adjusted again, test drove it, brought it back in ... this happened 4 times. They told me to take it and they would get the alignment rack calibrated and call me when they were ready. A couple weeks later I brought it back in, they aligned it and it drove perfectly. I spoke to the head mechanic and he told me the alightment heads were out of calibration by 1/4".
It would be worth asking when the shop had their equipment calibrated.

Originally Posted by Nickk6

The hunter tire balancer can be calibrated on the spot. There is a weight attached to the back of the machine specifically for doing this. It takes 5 minutes to calibrate the balancer, no specialty tools needed.. Alignment rack takes longer, but requires some specialized tools that most shop owners don't buy.

Originally Posted by Nickk6

I bought a hunter road force balancer new in 2007 They train you for about 5 minutes, its really not that serious of training and there isn't a certification for it. Also its really not hard to let the machine tell you to mark your tire and rim. You then let the air out of the tire, break the bead and spin tire using a tire changer like the TC3700 that has arms specifically for holding the tire in place while the rim spins inside the tire to line up the lines. Reseat tire, fill up air, re run road force to make sure its good and you are done. Also again not sure how a senior guy can balance a tire better than a moron. The machine shows you where the weight goes via lasers and the motor holds the wheel in that spot. You would really have to do something silly to mess it up if you are using a hunter machine. Just my experience from using the machine regularly since I bought it.

*edit* the factory wheels and tires balance great, not sure why you would state they are notoriously difficult to balance? I've actually balanced them and there are no issues I've ever run into.

Originally Posted by DanTeSlagX

You gotta ask for a hunter road force certified tech. I don’t think non certified can use it anyways but at least by asking you’re telling the service write that you’re the type that pays attention to the details and knows what he is asking for.

Hunter takes their training really seriously.

I do want to add that the GX and its factory wheels are notoriously difficult to balance well.

When I went to the local Toyota dealer to have them do the RF balance, the machine was out of service with no more abrasive tape left on its roller drum. But they had some senior guy do a normal balance instead, and it really smoothed things out a lot. Given the outcome I’d say that a skilled non road force balance is just as good as RF, but I’d still only seek out road force given a choice.

There is still a little shimmy on some roads in comfort setting. That goes away in normal or sport. But then again I’m on AT’s so I think that is responsible for some of it (also getting thr driveline lubed tomorrow so that might help)

Originally Posted by IanG

Yup, the question is "has the shop calibrated them recently?"

Originally Posted by DanTeSlagX

I’ll ask for the moron next time I’m in for a balance.

The whole forum here, Reddit and other venues are full of people that can’t get their tires balanced. It’s not the wheels. It’s the truck that is very sensitive to how well the wheels are balanced.

the “notoriously difficult” part is from the Toyota tech that did the balance. He met me at the service writer desk because he has owned 3 GX’s and had (correctly) assumed that I was an enthusiast since the truck had a fresh coating of fluid film and I had insisted on the RF balance. That being said he did also tell me that he had removed a comical amount of weights from the wheels.


but the first hand experience is appreciated. I’ve been misinformed about Hunter’s after sales support then.